This week's lesson is dedicated to basic German business vocabulary. From news reports about the economy (die Wirtschaft) to videos that take place in office settings, there's quite a lot to be found on Yabla German. In this lesson, we have highlighted all business and workplace vocabulary.

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First of all, there are a number of words for "the business" or "the company":

Wir haben einen Vertrag mit der Firma.

We have a contract with the company.

Caption 36, Mülltrennung: in Heidelberg

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Er ist Geschäftsführer des Unternehmens.

He is the director of the company.

Caption 32, Sicherheit im Straßenverkehr: Versicherer entwickeln automatischen Notruf für alle Autos

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Um dies sicherzustellen, habe der Konzern die Frequenz der Belieferungen erhöht.

To ensure this, the group has increased the frequency of deliveries.

Caption 13, Coronavirus: Trotz Hamsterkäufen keine Versorgungsprobleme

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The word for business in general is das Geschäft. Above, you see the word der Geschäftsführer, which would be the director or CEO of a company. The word for "co-worker" is der Arbeitskollege or die Arbeitskollegin, or simply der Kollege or die Kollegin, which is how the employees (der Mitarbeiter or die Mitarbeiterin) at a company would describe each other. They would likely refer to the person they report to as der Chef or die Chefin, which (Achtung!) in German is not someone who works in a kitchen. 

Genau, ihre Kollegin, Frau Larsen, hat mir alles gezeigt, die ganzen Büros, und mir die Mitarbeiter vorgestellt.

Exactly, your colleague Ms. Larsen showed me everything, all the offices, and introduced me to the employees.

Captions 9-10, Das Lügenbüro: Die Bewerbung

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„Während ich an meinen Rechnungen saß, kam meine Chefin und hat mir noch mehr Aufgaben zugeteilt.“

"While I was sitting with my bills, my boss came and assigned me further tasks."

Captions 41-42, Eva erklärt: temporale Konnektoren

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In a company, "the department" is die Abteilung. Take a look:

Hier in der Personalabteilung ist eine Halbtagsstelle frei geworden.

A part-time job has become free here in the human resources department.

Caption 40, Berufsleben: Probleme mit Mitarbeitern

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Sie suchen nach jemandem für ihre Marketingabteilung.

They're looking for someone for their marketing department.

Caption 8, Berufsleben: das Vorstellungsgespräch

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In terms of finances and profits, here are some good words to know:

Meine Berechnungen für den zu erwartenden Absatz liegen Ihnen vor.

My calculations for the expected sales are lying in front of you.

Caption 55, Mama arbeitet wieder Kapitel 2: Kompromisse zu finden ist nicht einfach

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Siebenundvierzig Millionen Euro Umsatz hat die Messe in diesem Jahr gemacht.

The trade show made forty-seven million euros in gross revenue this year.

Caption 33, Agrarmesse Grüne Woche in Berlin

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Im letzten Jahr wurde ein Rekordergebnis von einundzwanzig-Komma-acht Millionen Euro Gewinn erzielt.

Last year a record result of twenty-one point eight million euros profit was achieved.

Captions 37-38, Fluglinien Niki Air

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Further Learning
On Yabla German, watch our Berufsleben series to listen to conversations taking place in an office setting.

On Yabla German, you can find many videos featuring German-speaking scientists, environmentalists, and citizens who are very concerned about the Earth's future:

Das Eis am Nord- und Südpol schmilzt, der Meeresspiegel steigt.

The ice at the North and South Pole is melting, the sea level is rising.

Caption 31, OroVerde - Regenwald schützen: CO₂, Regenwald und Klimaschutz

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Willi, machst du dir auch manchmal Gedanken darüber, ob unsere wertvolle Natur irgendwann Opfer einer immer intensiveren Landwirtschaft, ausgerichtet auf Gewinnmaximierung wird?

Willi, do you ever worry about whether our precious nature will eventually become the victim of increasingly intensive agriculture geared towards maximizing profit?

Captions 60-63, Umwelt und Natur: Wo sind all die Bienen hin?

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To engage with a German perspective on the situation, you will need specific vocabulary related to problems like those mentioned above, but also related to steps we can take individually and collectively. First of all, there are the acts of recycling and paying attention to what we as individuals eat and consume:

In Heidelberg wird der Müll in verschiedene Gruppen getrennt, damit das, was recycelt werden kann, wiederverwertet werden kann, auch wieder wirklich wiederverwertet wird.

In Heidelberg, the garbage is separated into different groups, so that that which can be recycled, can be re-used, also really gets re-used.

Captions 14-16, Mülltrennung in Heidelberg

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Bio statt Agrarindustrie. Umweltschonend angebaut ohne Chemie mit niedrigem Energieverbrauch und gentechfrei.

Organic instead of the agriculture industry. Environmentally friendly without chemicals, with low energy use and free of genetic engineering.

Captions 33-34, Nachhaltige Ernährung: Animation

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Then there are the investments that need to be made in green energy by cities and countries:

Um etwas gegen die Klimaerwärmung zu tun, müssen wir in Deutschland aus der Braunkohle aussteigen.

In order to do something against global warming, we have to phase out brown coal in Germany.

Caption 36, WWF Deutschland Klimawandel hautnah: Was sind die Auswirkungen?

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Wir müssen jetzt in erneuerbare Energien, in... in Energieeffizienz investieren.

We must now invest in renewable energies, in... in energy efficiency.

Caption 19, Die Insel Fehmarn - Schlauchboote gegen den Atom-Irrsinn

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Also, hundert Prozent Ökostrom, können wir das hinkriegen? Das geht.

So, one hundred percent green electricity, can we do that? It's possible.

Caption 11, Terra X - Ohne Kohle und Atom - Geht uns der Strom aus?

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In all of this, the concept of "sustainability" remains the guiding principle. While the word is sometimes misused or even exploited, it is still the central focus of many concerted efforts.

Heute wird Nachhaltigkeit als ein Gesamtkonzept angesehen.

Today, sustainability is seen as a global concept.

Caption 17, Erklärvideos - Nachhaltigkeit einfach erklärt

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Further Learning
If you didn't catch our previous newsletter on vocabulary related to the climate crisis, have a look on our lessons page. Watch any of the videos above in their entirety on Yabla German, or select the category "Environment" to learn even more!

Many of us are spending much more time at home than usual right now, and are therefore acutely aware of how much work it takes to keep a household running. For those of you who might be looking for a way to procrastinate, let's look at how to talk about household chores in German. 

Die Hausarbeit is the German word for "chore." You may know this word already, as it refers to a written work that students complete in order to get credits for a class (similar to a "term paper"). In this case, however, it is related to der Haushalt ("the household"), and is literally translated as "housework."

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Ich sauge nicht so oft, ich hasse Hausarbeit.

I don't vacuum very often, I hate housework.

Caption 14, Nicos Weg - A1 Folge 47: Haushaltsarbeit

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Two important verbs to know are putzen, which means "to clean," and aufräumen, which means "to tidy up" or "to pick up." The command "Clean up your room!" is expressed with aufräumen, not putzen.

Ich finde schon, dass du häufiger putzen könntest

I do think you could clean more often

oder zumindest deine eigenen Sachen aufräumen könntest.

or at least pick up your own things.

Captions 24-25, Die Wohngemeinschaft - Probleme

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There is always so much to do! Here's a long list of chores, courtesy of Yabla's own Eva:

Ich muss die Küche aufräumen, den Abwasch machen,

I have to tidy up the kitchen, do the dishes,

das Bad putzen, Staub saugen und Staub wischen.

clean the bathroom, vacuum and dust.

Captions 5-6, Hausputz - mit Eva

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Hallo, heute will ich meine Wäsche waschen. 

Hello, today I want to do my laundry. 

Caption 1, Wäsche waschen - mit Eva

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A big topic in any German household is die Mülltrennung, which literally translates as "the separation of garbage" and refers to recycling. 

In Heidelberg wird der Müll in verschiedene Gruppen getrennt.

In Heidelberg, the garbage is separated into different groups.

Caption 14, Mülltrennung - in Heidelberg

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Wischen, fegen, Müll wegbringen. Drei Monate lang.

Mop, sweep, take out the garbage. For three months.

Caption 5, Großstadtrevier - Schatten der Vergangenheit

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Not all household tasks feel like chores, however. After all, for those who appreciate it, cooking can also be a real joy!

Kochen Sie eigentlich auch zu Hause selbst?

Do you actually cook at home yourself?

Caption 22, Ball des Weines - Franz Beckenbauer

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Further Learning
Watch the videos Hausputz - mit Eva or Nicos Weg - A1 Folge 47: Haushaltsarbeit in their entirety on Yabla German to learn even more useful phrases. To get the latest news from Germany and also work on your listening comprehension, you can listen to the first minute and a half of today's report from Deutsche Welle's Langsam gesprochene Nachrichten. 

Die Pflanzen blühen jetzt.

The plants are blooming now.

Caption 12, Jahreszeiten - Der Sommer

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After an extremely cold March, Germany experienced temperatures up to 73° F / 23° C this last week. It seems that temperatures below freezing will not return for a while, so it's time for many people to get outside and work in the garden. 

Sein Leben sind die Pflanzen, die er liebevoll rund um sein Häuschen hegt, und das Saatgut, das er daraus gewinnt.

His life consists of the plants that he lovingly tends around his little house and the seeds that he gets from them.

Captions 5-6, Ökobauer - Allein im Wald

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Nitrat ist klassischer Pflanzendünger.

Nitrate is a traditional plant fertilizer.

Caption 26, Bundesregierung - Der Tomatenfisch

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Piggeldy wollte wissen, was Unkraut ist.

Piggeldy wanted to know what a weed is.

Caption 1, Piggeldy und Frederick - Unkraut

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People who live in the city can start planting flowers and herbs on their window sills and on their balconies. 

Ich habe meine Balkonkästen mit dieser Erde gefüllt.

I filled my balcony planters with this soil.

Caption 30, Mülltrennung - in Heidelberg

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Of course, those in the agriculture business (die Landwirtschaft) have already been at work for a while, since their planting and harvesting are hardly limited to the warm months

Und hier sehen wir, wie auf der Domäne Dahlem Landwirtschaft betrieben wird.

And here we see how farming is done at the Domain Dahlem.

Caption 23, Berlin - Domäne Dahlem - Part 1

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Der kleine, freche Rabe Socke flitzt mit seinem Rennwagen durch den hessischen Wald, statt wie seine Freunde bei der Ernte zu helfen.

The little, impertinent raven Socke flies with his race car through the Hessian forest instead of helping with the harvest like his friends.

Captions 2-3, Filmtrailer - Der kleine Rabe Socke

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Further Learning
Search for more vocabulary on Yabla German, or refer to websites such as this one for basic gardening terms, or this thorough list of words related to agriculture.

On Yabla German, you may have come across several different adjectives that are translated with the English adjective "responsible." 

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The word zuständig is commonly used to describe responsibility for a particular task, often in professional contexts. 

Ich bin zuständig dort für die Öffentlichkeitsarbeit und Abfallberatung.

I am responsible for public relations and garbage consultation there.

Caption 8, Mülltrennung - in Heidelberg

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Für die Klimatechnik in den Restaurants ist Handwerker Max zuständig.

The handyman Max is responsible for the air conditioning in the restaurants.

Caption 15, Frankfurter Flughafen - Ja zu FRA! Erklärfilm

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Verantwortlich is similar to zuständig in how it is used, but often describes a higher level of legal or political responsibility. 

Diese Aktion ist Teil einer internationalen Kampagne,

This action is part of an international campaign,

die sich gegen Dänemark richtet,

that is directed against Denmark,

weil Dänemark, äh, politisch verantwortlich ist.

because Denmark, uh, is politically responsible.

Captions 11-12, PETA-Aktion - Gegen das Wal-Massaker

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Verantwortungsvoll and zuverlässig are used to describe a permanent personality trait. Zuverlässig, however, more specifically means "competent," "dependable," "trustworthy," or "reliable." 

Der Präventionstag soll den Jugendlichen den Anstoß geben,

Prevention Day is meant to give young people a nudge

in für sie heiklen Situationen verantwortungsvoll zu handeln.

towards acting responsibly in delicate situations.

Captions 44-45, Gewaltprävention - Gewalt an Schulen

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Haben wir zuverlässige Leute in allen Wehrkreisen?

Do we have trustworthy people in all military districts?

Caption 39, Die Stunde der Offiziere - Dokudrama über den 20. Juli 1944

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Further Learning
Search for more instances of zuständig, verantwortlich, verantwortungsvoll, and zuverlässig on Yabla German and practice the declensions of these adjectives.